I don't think we have really learned how to maximize the batting power play. We seem to have the rigid approach of taking the power play in the last 5-7 overs. Which is all good except on occasions when we leave it too late. This innovation is supposed to provide the batting team the flexibility to gain momentum in their innings. More than a couple of times we have two set batsmen who are looking to accelerate between the 35-45th overs and succumb trying to play a big shot. Shakib in the NZ 3rd ODI and Mushy in the Eng 2nd ODI are two such cases.

We seem to be depending on Nayeem to blast the ball out of the park during powerplays. He is quite adept at big hits but does not yet have the finesse and skills to be destructive against really good death bowlers. A top order batsman who has played for a while is more likely to take advantage of powerplays than Nayeem would coming straight into the middle. Nayeem has done well in his finisher role, but I would ask the team think-tank to revisit the strategy and be more flexible for our upcoming ODIs.

This is another area where we are badly missing Mashrafe. At his best, Mash can easily take the #8 slot. Then our middle order would look like, #4 Mushfiq #5 Shakib #6 Riyad and #7 Nayeem. Would also allow us to take an additional bowler/bowling allrounder strengthening the team balance.

Originally Posted by roaring tigerz
This is another area where we are badly missing Mashrafe. At his best, Mash can easily take the #8 slot. Then our middle order would look like, #4 Mushfiq #5 Shakib #6 Riyad and #7 Nayeem. Would also allow us to take an additional bowler/bowling allrounder strengthening the team balance.

Unfortunately this is not the case anymore. Mash seems to be really hitting the retirement botton which will be quite sad for us. Best pacer we have ever produced who also knew how to hit the big ones with the bat.

Tigers_eye: Rarely disagree with you, actually never, other than this one. Given the realities on the ground, if Naem comes in, that should be the time we take the power play given Riad/Mushfique is with him. There is no point in waiting for Razzaque/Shafiul/Rubel because they dont even know how to swing the bat... forget baseballing!! Hence, I think our strategy should be based on wickets than which over we are in... If we wait till the 40th over when 7 wickets are down and the bowlers are in... taking or not taking powerplay is absolutely meaningless.

Another innovative approach would be to take the batting powerplay with Tamim/Mushfique/Riad combination. They can find the gaps and take advantage of the fielding restrictions.. So we keep the momentum with the openers or when we are on a roll. Yes, there is always a danger of loosing the wickets and if we do lose them,, then we just bat as if we are not in batting power-play.

Bangladesh is one of the worst offenders when it comes to batting powerplay.. because our captain(s) tend to go with what other teams has done based on their strenghts than the realities of BD cricket. We try to follow a scripted approach on few things; like having pacers bowl during dead overs, have defensive feild settings during mid overs etc. And for batting power play,, we definitely need to rethink than thinking the traditional way of things that dont work in this era..

Yes, we are not sure yet how to approach the batting PP. If we recall correctly, for a long time, we even didn't know the correct approach for the initial PP's, until Tamim came aboard. Due to lack of aggressive openers, we had to resort to Aftab's slogging at no.3 to make up for the docile approach of the openers that time. In a way, Aftab was sacrificed, and he still can't recover from that. In any case, Tamim made sure we no longer have to worry about RR in initial PP's. Just like then when we didn't know what to do with the initial PP's, now we are dealing with what to do with the batting PP. It will come with time. As an inexperienced side, things will move slower for us than other major nations, who are matured and flexible enough to adjust to new rules on the fly.

We should definitely experiment more than follow the script of waiting till the 45th regardless of situations. For example : If Tamim is still there after initial PP's, which also means, we have a flying start, we should take it right then. If we have wkts in hand, and a nice partnership already built in the middle overs, then I would rather see the two set batsmen take the PP than waiting till the end. In another words, it has to be a in game situation, and since every game is different, the timing of taking the PP's will vary from game to game.

i think the last 2 overs of the innings should be left alone because if you have good number of wickets in hand, runs will come no matter what.....so batting power play should be taken 44-48 or 43-47 or 42-46.

target should be to score 100 runs in the last 10 overs with batting power play in the middle of it...start the last 10 over with authority (warm up for the batting power play) middle overs during batting power play and last death overs drive to push the runs further..

Originally Posted by skhondoker
target should be to score 100 runs in the last 10 overs with batting power play in the middle of it...start the last 10 over with authority (warm up for the batting power play) middle overs during batting power play and last death overs drive to push the runs further..

agreed. If your RR is 5 per over, it won;nt make much of a difference if you target 6-7 an over in the PP. you have to aim big for around 50-60 in the powerplay.

I believe that was against NZ. Shakib was set and start slogging in the later part of the game and got out. The commentator was saying (before he got out) "why not using batting power play now, if you plan to slog?". thats was so valid, that would give Shakib more success of survival when hitting aerial shots. And then during the 45-50 overs, with wicket on hand, you can always slog... with or without batting power play.

So, yes, I agree, we still didn't mastered to use the batting power play to our advantage and integrate with our batting game plan.

Yes, Mushfiq and Shakib are most likely candidate to fall during pp. So, it won't be wise to depend on them whether set or not. In our current situation, we should wait for someone from Riyad and Naeem to be set to take the pp.

what i think that we cannot fear what happened last time and not take that decisions. we must back ourselves the next day.

like rubel bowled bad in death overs in the SL match, and shafiul bowled in the last match. so do they stop bowling in death overs ???? no. we should back them that , it was a bad day and next day they will perform.

same as powerplay, depending on game situation we should take it whenever we feel is the right time. we cannot hesitate thinking that happened last day. we should remember every day is a new game and new situation

That's why I would actually prefer Aftab to bat at #7. He's one of the best sloggers we've had when he was in form, so it would be better to have him in this position simply for the powerplays. A quickfire 20+ will boost our run rate.

Originally Posted by Tiger Manc
That's why I would actually prefer Aftab to bat at #7. He's one of the best sloggers we've had when he was in form, so it would be better to have him in this position simply for the powerplays. A quickfire 20+ will boost our run rate.

We saw his current slogging ability in the last match. Clean bowled rather than quick fire these days putting more pressure on the team no matter when he comes.

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I doubt that Mashrafee is even close to retirement. He is an exceptional player who had gone through many bad times. His six surgeries are not for retiring at 26 years of age. He will still be around and with his immense 'applied' talent, personality and , there is no doubt that he will be playing pretty soon again, if not for the next series..

I think its best to take powerplay when you are really going for the sixers or aerial shots i.e. end of the innings. But then again you actually need to have guys at that time who can do that, having number 10 and 11 at the end of 45 overs, and if powerplay starts then its going to be useless. I think Sakib needs to assess after 40 overs if we are in dire straits and dont have wickets with someone like Naeem stranded in one end, its better to take the PP then.

Well I think the batting powerplay could be taken between 10-15 or 15-20 while Tamim is still around and he can just continue firing away. Batsmen will already be in the powerplay frame of mind from the initial 1-10 overs and can take full advantage of the batting powerplay then. Taking the powerplay too late only complicates things or we maybe in a tight/risky situation to take it. 40-50 overs can be utilized in the traditional way where teams used to slog in those overs anyway.

You thrash the might Indies by 160 runs but don't have any clue how to use the batting power play!?? Come on!! It's not rocket science!!!

Just keep your heads cool, concentrates, and you will be fine

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